But even these three phases don't really paint a clear picture of what you'll have to do during a breach. Let's start with day one, when you've just discovered a breach.

Day One of a Retailer Data Breach: Here's What Happens

The moment you learn about a data breach, it's already too late. Cyber criminals have already broken into your store, stolen its data, and may have already committed identity theft against some of your customers.

Verizon's data breach study shows that 60 percent of the time, criminals are able to compromise an organization within minutes — yet it can take weeks or months for an organization to notice it's been breached.

You read that right. It only takes minutes. By the time you finish reading this section, a hacker could have broken into your network. And you probably wouldn't have noticed.

So how do you find out you've been hacked?

Often, law enforcement officials contact you to tell you that there's been a pattern of identity theft among your customers.

When a pattern emerges — i.e., the victims all shopped at your store in the last six months — it's safe to assume that there's a breach.

Remember that famous data breach at Target ? Well, Target discovered and stopped the breach on December 15, but criminals had been stealing their data since November 27. Despite all the security professionals Target employs, it took weeks for the company to realize what had happened.

Data Breach Timeline: Ins and Outs

After discovering a data breach, you'll have to fix the issue that led to the breach and try to control its damage. These two steps are interrelated. After law enforcement officials, banks, or security professionals notify you that your store's been hacked, you'll want to take these steps:

Depending on the size of your breach, it could take months or even up to a year to fulfill these obligations. States often require you to notify customers within 30 or 45 days of discovering the attack. So you'll have to work quickly to get your IT repaired and make sure you're ready to handle the influx of complaints.